Wizard and Blood
by Notdundundunn
Summary: With the arrival of a mysterious horned girl at the orphanage, Harry Potter's days take a darker turn. How far will he be able to run from his unknown enemies when he can't even find an ally within himself.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own neither Harry Potter nor Elfen Lied. They are owned by their respective... well... owners.

**AN: I was just re-watching Elfen Lied last week and I got an urge to write something about it (about her backstory in particular). Well, behold the result and criticize as much as you want without worrying about making me cry.**

**Warning**: Plenty of profanity here. Since this is Elfen Lied, gore is sure to follow in later chapters as well.

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><p>Harry sat down on the chair with the shit that they tried to pass off as food held in his hands. Four years and it still tasted like shit to him. Starvation, he wasn't too keen on though. He slowly brought the soggy clump of half-cooked mess up to his open mouth and swallowed quickly, not eager to chew. Not as terrible as some other days. He swallowed another spoonful. Yes, this was one of the better ones.<p>

"Look at the horned freak, she wasn't even given food."

The jeer, directed at the newest girl in the orphanage, was followed by a dreaded chorus of laughs. Oh their laughter, how pleasant, how melodious! It felt as if he was sitting in a peaceful garden while some fuck hammered nails into his eardrums. Fortunately for his ears, the laughter died out quickly allowing him to focus his thoughts on its target. The girl, with a head of shocking red hair, matching eyes and most strangely, two white horns on her head, had only been here a month but had somehow garnered hate from almost everyone here. She did resemble an experiment gone wrong rather than a human being so that was not completely unexpected. He still had no idea if she was the kind to break down and cry or the sort to bury it all within to kill them all someday in one psychotic explosion of emotion. Personally, he was hoping for the latter (as long as he had a warning).

Letting the spoonful drop back into the bowl, he turned to look at the red girl. It was too late for her to get the portion of food but no one seemed interested in informing her. Without a warning, a clump food flew at her from somewhere behind him. Turning behind, he saw that it was the rat-face bastard who was throwing shit around. The whiny little bitch was probably going cry about not getting enough food for lunch later. It seemed that it was the limit of bullying she could take and she went to leave through the door with her head hung. The door that was unfortunately just on his right. He tried to take cover as soon as his mind caught up with the danger but he wasn't fast enough. A piece of carrot struck him in the left eyeball, making his vision explode into stars.

"Son of a bitch!" With an angry curse, he hurled his spoon at the asshole. A scream of pain told him his shot rang true even when his vision shook. That rat-faced fucker was going to die today. As soon as he could see straight.

"POTTER!" A familiar roar silenced everyone in the hall. Oh goddamn everything.

Caretaker Huxley was not an evil person, that much he was sure of. No matter how hard he was on Harry, it wasn't out of malice or sadism but a genuine desire to turn him into a 'better person'. He was, however, the single most unpleasant fuck Harry had the misfortune of meeting in his life. The fact that he always appeared just in time to catch Harry (and Harry only) didn't help his likability. The first sight that greeted him once his vision cleared was the aged caretaker closing in on him. His face already an ugly purple colour, signifying that you just fucked up big time. When he spoke, it was with a barely restrained calm tone taking making him all the more intimidating.

"Potter, I just don't know what is wrong with you." He sighed looking an unpleasant combination of tired and angry. "Please be honest here."

Everyone's attention was on him now, including the rat-face who was holding a rag over his bleeding forehead. Heh. Before he could bring his focus to Huxley's ugly mug, he noticed the red girl staring from the door. She was just looked at him with a strange expression as her red eyes met his green ones. He was transfixed for a moment. Just look how crimson they were! A pleasant tingle went through his spine and spread through his entire body.

"Do you hate me and try to do things I expressively forbid out of spite? Or are you filled with admiration but lacking a brain to comprehend the rules? Please enlighten me." He tore his eyes away from the girl and looked at the angry caretaker. He met the furious gaze and gave the only right answer.

Silence. Ha, take that.

"Answer me you useless ingrate!" And there went any semblance of calmness Huxley was giving. Nice word though, ingrate. He had to use it sometime.

A smile formed on his face, the most smug and punchable one he could manage. "I have nothing but respect for you, sir." His tone was laced with a paper-thin facade of sincerity.

"I find it commendable that a piece of dogshit managed to learn human speech."

What the hell. If he was going to get his ass beat again, might as well make the punishment worth it.

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><p>Two hours later and a painful caning later, Harry was sitting on a moldy bench in the abandoned park behind the orphanage. Years of neglect had caused the overgrowth to cover most of the park. Ideal for hiding from prying eyes, as long as you do it quietly. Years at this place made him somewhat of an expert in hiding. A stone pebble was held in his hand loosely and his face was drawn in concentration.<p>

'Move.' He thought forcefully. 'Move. Move. MOVE. MOVE!'

He gritted his teeth and thought one last time with all the mental force he could muster.

**MOVE!**

The pebble crawled and inch in his palm causing a wave of euphoric satisfaction. It wasn't much but Harry felt that he was improving. Letting out a sign of relief, he let the stone drop on the ground.

He didn't remember why, or how or even since when but one thing he knew for sure was that there was more to his power than shaking small stones. His powers reared their head time and again, mostly during fights but never in the same way twice. Once he even managed to somehow managed to turn himself invisible while running from a beating. His newest practice session was inspired by his uncanny marksmanship against that rat-faced guy earlier today. Hitting the target while blinded was simply not possible. No fucking way. He was just a pissed off boy, not some grizzled old gunslinger with a lifetime of experience in shooting elusive targets.

He wanted to control this power somehow. Making things always hit their target, turn himself invisible at will, blast people away with a gesture. He could be powerful, he could finally,

"Get away from this piece of shit place." He murmured softly, looking at the cloudy sky peeking from behind the canopy.

He was shaken out of his thinking by a rustle in a nearby bush. A pair of crimson eyes. The red girl was standing a few feet away from him, spying from the looks of it. A chill went through his body. How much did she see?

"Hey!" He said with the fakest, brightest smile he could muster. Calm down. Nothing's been ruined yet. They'll more likely chuck her into the loony bin rather than dissect him for study. Calm down. No need to panic just yet.

He noticed a strange expression etched on her face. Was it surprise? Have you never seen a bloke practice telekinesis? She was getting closer. Fear? Are you afraid I'll snap your neck from afar? She drew closer still. He could make out a smile, a nervous smile. Happiness?

"I saw you move it." She whispered with a voice full of excitement. More emotion than he ever heard her display. "Do you use your arms for that?" She continued excitedly ignoring his incredulous reaction.

Her red eyes were alight with emotion. She stared at his confused face and explained. "Y'know, arms. Like big strong arms that you feel around you." She waved her arms for emphasis. "Other than the two, I mean." He slowly looked away from her and at the pebble on the ground. She crouched beside him without another word. Forward, wasn't she? Where did all her spirit go in front of others? Shaking away the thoughts, he concentrated. An image solidified in his mind; a powerful ethereal hand grabbing the puny pebble and shoving it away with contempt.

MOVE!

A gasp escaped his lips as he felt something flex in his mind. The stone had moved six inches, more than he ever deliberately managed. Ah, sweet progress. She was staring at him again. What was going through her mind? Does she think she found a friend? Someone like her? Someone who likes her?

"What can you do?" He curiously asked after a moment of contemplation.

The smile promptly slid off her face at the question. She looked downcast now. He felt bad somehow.

"Well, I can feel the arms sometimes but that's all." Well, he did kinda owe her for helping him with the trick. No waste in being nice in exchange.

"You gotta practice if you want to other stuff. If you're like me then you'll get it someday."

He realized that she was looking at the top of his head, hopefully not practicing her powers. She reached out with her hand and ran her hand through his hair. A pleasant shiver went through him once again.

"No, I do not have a horn." He half-heartedly tried to shake her hand off. "It would be plenty visible if I had one, wouldn't it?"

"Then how are we similar?" She looked worried now. Worried at never being able to make stones shake with her mind? Worried that she was the only one in the world with horns? He looked at the two smooth bone-white horns extending from beneath her red hair. They were probably cancerous or something.

"I'm not talking about looks. No two people have same looks 'cept when they're twins." His assurances weren't working. He could see that she was going back to her miserable public self. Goddammit, why can't he just let it go. "Look, I'll even help you with it. If you like."  
>"Really?" Disbelief was apparent in her features. Wasn't she talking to him like he was her new best friend just moments ago? Girl was weird.<p>

"You did teach me a new trick so I owe you one."

She thanked him with a smile. He felt a lot better about himself. With a smile of his own, he called out after her.

"Just warn me before the murders start, will ya?"

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><p>Harry got to know the red girl a lot better in the following weeks. Well enough to even call themselves friends, even. While he hardly paid attention to her (or anyone else, really) outside of their routine meet-ups, he realized quickly that she was quite a puzzle. As lazy as he was, he liked a good puzzle every now and then so he had set out to discern some things about her.<p>

The first thing he realized was that she wasn't really into learning about her possible powers. That was probably good since they hadn't met one goddamn bit of progress in an entire week. Not that she missed her lessons or anything, she just wouldn't really show any disappointment when she failed. He never doubted that she had some power though; you just don't get red eyes and horns without some power to go along.

The second thing, that was pretty obvious when he thought about it, was that she loathed everyone else. Maybe it was because they were 'normal', or because they had annoying voices. Or perhaps it was because they throw food at her. Fuck it, its not like he was a fan of them either.

The final significant thing that he had managed to learn was that she was far more emotional than he thought. His first conversation wasn't a fluke. The fact that that genuine emotions existed underneath the frosty and slightly creepy exterior made him slightly happier. He also learned her name but that don't really count since he kept forgetting and she grew tired of reminding him. Not very odd for him since Huxley was the one person here whose name he could remember without having to think for a minute.

There was plenty he didn't know though, starting with why she approached him in the first place and ending with what exactly she was after (and a lot of 'why the fuck does she have horns' in between). That brings him back to today. One of the sunnier days in quite a while. The kind of day where he could just lay on the grass and enjoy the sun and quiet without getting bored.

"Hey horns, still haven't found your bag?"

But most unfortunately, it wasn't to be. His poor pale skin, meetings with Huxley were terrible for them. He got up into a sitting position to get a better look at what was going on.

"How the fuck did he get someone to follow him?" He whispered, unable to contain his surprise.

A boy, recognizable for the nigh-permanent smirk on his face, was trying to taunt and intimidate the girl with his brand new posse of sycophants. Smirky (he wasn't good with names) was something of an odd specimen. He didn't have any sort of brawn to him like some of the older bullies nor did he have any brain. Not only was the top floor empty but the concrete itself had more shit than cement. Despite all that he had for some reason made his life aim to become the orphanage's prime bully. Unfortunately, his epic journey of self discovery and killing kittens was cut short when he discovered that he would get his ass beat by anyone with two functioning limbs and a few with one. This probably left just one target that wouldn't fight back.

Smirk, who had now finally found some followers, had the red girl surrounded. She was hanging her head down while sitting on the moldy bench (their practise spot). She was pretty early to the practise, three hours to be exact. Looking closely, he saw that she was taking the taunts without any visible reactions. Probably ripping their innards out in her mind. He stretched his body languidly and stood up. The situation was still the same, the bullies would taunt her in various torturously uncreative manners and she would continue mimicking a mannequin.

One of them took a step forward and shoved her, making her fall of the bench and into the dirt. They laughed as she tried to crawl away from them in a futile attempt to escape. The leader gave the order,

"Hold him down. Don't let him run away."

The fat bully approached with a grin on his blubbery face. "Freak, this is for making me look bad-"

He was running before he realized it. His veins burned with rage and his mind clouded with anger. There were four of them in total. He could take as many as two in a fight. Three would be iffy and four presented terrible odds. Surprise was on his side though. His mind whirred as he stepped closer to them. Take two of them out of commission while they were distracted. That was his best chance. His mind was growing colder with each step and emotions started to freeze. Harry let himself sink deep inside his mind. Turning his mind into steel, he stepped into the fight.

He lashed out with his fist putting all his strength behind it. It struck Dudley on the back of the head with a satisfying thud. Left or Right. Left or Right. The one on the right was busy trying to kick the girl. The bully's kicks were caught short as a knee impacted his groin. Turning towards the left, he saw a fist coming towards his face.

The punch made him stumble back and fall on his back allowing the remaining goons to rain kicks down on him. With a growl, he kicked out with his right foot using all his might. The desperate blow caught one on the chin and sent him sprawling. Taking the surprise of the remaining one as an opening, he lashed out with all his power. This time, power came to his call shooting down to his right palm like an electric jolt. All his emotions returned in a wave as he shoved his palm forward. He bared a bloody grin as the attacker went flying, pushed away by an invisible force. Shakily, he stood up on his feet not letting the grin slide even a biit.

They were running away, crawling, crying and bleeding. Just like THEM. He let out a bark of laughter at their retreating backs.

"You like that you ingrate motherfuckers, you!" He throat hurt but he didn't care as he shouted at them. "Aha-haha! Come back here!"

His laughter was interrupted as his legs wobbled and gave out beneath him making him fall face first into a nearby bush. Blearily, he opened his eyes and through the thick foliage, he saw a small creature looking at him curiously. A puppy?

"Fuck off!" he growled out making it yelp and run in terror. The adrenaline had faded far too quickly leaving only the pain. He felt something tug at his from behind. Using his arms, he pushed allowing Red to pull him free of the bush.

"Thanks," he breathlessly whispered. "I think I swallowed a branch."

She was looking down at him with a worried expression on her face. She presented a miserable sight with teary face, bruised arms and clothes caked in a layer of mud. All the satisfaction of winning the fight went straight out the window leaving only wounds and guilt. She just stared for a second, as if making sure his limbs were still attached. She stuck out a pale, thin, hand. "Ummm... sorry for getting you in trouble."

He twisted his bruised lips into a smile and clasped her hand allowing her to pull him up.

"And thanks." She added.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. They belong to their respective owners.

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><p><strong>Why did he help?<strong>

They were annoying me.

**Why did he get beat up for someone else?**

They were disturbing me.

**Why did you feel so angry? **

I didn't.

**Why do you even care about her?**

I don't know.

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><p>"Do you really think I'll get it someday?" She turned to look at him. The boy was lying lazily on the grass as if he had not a care in the world. At her question, he opened one single eye and stared.<p>

"Stop being an idiot." His words were harsh but lacked the biting edge of his real insults. "You think I'd waste my time on you if I didn't think so?"

She almost smiled at that, long used to his way of talking. His apparent rudeness wasn't anything she minded really, and it was infinitely preferable to all the cruel insults from others. She dropped the twig she was holding in her hand and retorted.

"You didn't do it cause of my charming personality then?"

Harry turned towards her, with both of his eyes open this time, and simply stared. She looked away feeling a bit flustered suddenly. That sounded more like something he'd say, probably something he did already saw to the Huxley. She could easily see him sneer out retort that way to the elderly Caretaker in her mind. It probably made her sound stupid, though.

"Umm… nothing." She muttered picking at the ground for her earlier twig.

After a few seconds of silence Harry replied with a small smile.

"Your _charming _personality is just a bonus."

He reached out towards her causing her to stiffen in shock. Slowly, he ran his finger across the smooth white protrusions on her head. He had a fascinated look on his face as he examined her horns, apparently unconcerned about her discomfort. She took the opportunity to examine his head of unruly black hair.

I wish you had horns too.

Her heart leapt to her throat at his frozen expression. The fact that she must have just said it out loud made her want to bury herself in a hole out of embarrassment. With a flush on her face, she began to desperately concentrate on the twig on her hand.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Harry opened his mouth, and then shut it with a snap. With a shake of his head, he turned away and dropped to his previous sleeping position with a half-hearted 'keep practicing'. Her nervousness quickly turned into a mix of anger and guilt when she noticed a discoloured bruise on his upper arm, a remnant of yesterday's fight.

The incident yesterday had left her with a mixed reaction within her. On one hand, she felt happy that she had a friend willing to stand up for her. For all his caustic jokes and teasing, it turned out that Harry did care for her. On the other hand, the guilt of having gotten her friend into trouble with the bullies was eating away at her. She knew first-hand how terrible the other children could be and didn't wish that on her friend. When asked, the insane boy had just replied that he was going to 'magic the bastards away'.

She shook her head not wanting to dwell about that anymore.

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><p><strong>Don't you see, Harry? Don't you see yourself in her? Doesn't her miserable little room bring you back to your cupboard? Don't the bullies who torment her remind you of your cousin? Doesn't her hopelessness make you feel nostalgic?<strong>

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><p>And he was asleep again. She reigned in the urge to chuck the twig at him. Falling asleep in the middle of a lesson not once but twice and he would still be able to complain about her 'laziness'. After staring for a second, she stretched out a foot and gently prodded him. As soon as her foot touched his head, Potter's eyes snapped open almost making her recoil in fright. He rolled over twice and somehow managed to get himself in a sitting position without using his hands. It was fascinating how much effort he put into being lazy.<p>

"Anything yet?" He looked too tense to be asleep just moments before, as if he was having a nightmare or something.

At her negative reply, he looked down, presumably at some pebble on the ground. She took a quick glance at his face drawn in concentration before noticing the small stone levitating several inches into the air. Slowly, it started to spin. Twisting and turning, twisting and turning, until it suddenly stopped and shot upwards into the air at an amazing speed. He had managed to go from making it crawl an inch to that in less than a month. She couldn't bring herself to feel jealous, however. Training his powers was the one thing that he actually put an effort into and she couldn't help but think that he deserved it.

She was brought out of her musings when she felt someone tug at her head. Harry was standing up and pulling the 'horns' to get her attention.

"Hungry." He stifled his yawn ignoring her scowl. "I'm gonna get something. Just keep practicing for a few."

Lunch was almost an hour away so he was most likely going to steal from some hapless passerby. She had no illusions that making things move was the extent of his powers. It had been almost a week since he had last gotten in trouble with the Caretaker and if there wasn't anything supernatural about that, she would eat her horns.

With a cat-like quickness, he climbed and jumped over the tall fence of the park. Fast recovery, really, considering that he was having trouble standing just yesterday. A couple of pedestrians that were about took no notice of the boy even when he skipped along the road leading to the park towards the main street. She let her head fall back on the grassy ground with a thud once she was out of sight.

"Be careful." She called out to no one.

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><p>He let the grimace show on his face as soon as he was out of her sight. Ever since that incident yesterday, it felt like there was something picking at his brain from the inside. Not in a physical way, no. It was more like the feeling you get when you're on the verge of remembering something <em>really <em>important but just can't fucking grasp it, only constant. The annoying feeling was taking a huge toll in his normally sunny disposition leaving him with a strange urge to go mess with someone to vent.

Fifteen minutes later, Harry was squatting of the floor of one of the few unused storerooms in the orphanage. Before him was a blazing inferno, a burning pyre of other children's precious possessions that he had managed to pinch in a short while. With a content sigh, he leant back on the wall. The pleasant warmth of the fire tickled at his skin, almost lulling him to sleep. The small room was rapidly filling up with smoke from the flames but strangely it didn't bother him any. Lazily, he eyed the fire as the things burned; from bag packs, to books, clothes and even a handful of toys. Something in him almost purred in satisfaction at the sight. The niggling in his head had even quelled a few. Their possessions, a sacrifice to his satisfaction, it seems.

Ever since he had managed to master his new power, this sort of thing became a lot easier for him. With his newfound trick, anyone (even goddamn Huxley) would be hard-pressed to notice him or his little paradise. If he were to name it, he would probably call it 'anti-asshole force field' or something like that. Unfortunately, it had a slight flaw of not working on someone actually _searching _for him but it was really useful nonetheless. Levitating stuff was fine and all but this was easily the best trick in his arsenal.

After a while, he reluctantly got up and left the room. It would be a few minutes before someone would discover the fire now that he wasn't there to veil it. While the Caretaker would definitely blame and punish him, the son of a bitch was going to have to find him first. In any case, the assholes from yesterday would still have to deal with their belongings becoming extra crispy.

He was practically skipping as he exited the gate of the Orphanage unnoticed by others around him. Within seconds, he found himself stopping suddenly. Something odd had occurred in his peripheral vision and his brain hadn't caught up with it up yet. Turning back, he immediately managed to pick out the source; a person dressed in some sort of weird purple coat standing on the other side of the road. The man, as he quickly realized, was also staring at him though the expression on his face was too far to be made out.

He narrowed his eyes at the man letting some hostility seep into his facial expression. Everything about the man, from his ridiculous outfit to the way the crowd automatically parted around him, just screamed 'weird'. While it was not the first time he noticed a strangely clothed stranger gawking at him from afar (a sad fact, really), something about this particular guy was putting him on edge. Before he could decide whether or not to approach him, the man turned on his heel and disappeared with a loud cracking sound.

"What in the name of fuck?" He found himself whispering out loud almost gaping like a fish in shock.

It took another second before he started running. He could distantly hear people shout and curse as his shoved his way through them.

'C'mon, calm down you stupid shit,' He told himself trying to lessen the shock if seeing a guy disappear into thin air. 'Just calm the hell down.'

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><p>She bit down on her hand to stifle her giggles. Her amusement wasn't lessened at the sight of his exasperated expression.<p>

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up now but you'll see once the purple guy-"

Her giggles exploded into full blown laughter at his gripe. He stood there gritting his teeth and allowed her to finish. After a few minutes, she had finally managed to reduce the laugh to a smile.

"Just... just hear yourself for a second, please." She managed to say without laughing.

She had been scared out of her skin when he came running as if the hounds of hell had been after his ass. That fear all but evaporated once he opened his mouth, though. Unfortunately for him, stories about disappearing purple men weren't something she could take seriously. That, coupled with his totally serious and even a bit fearful expression was enough to send her on a full blown laughing fit.

Her amusement reached a screeching halt when she saw that his lips had twisted into one of his fake smiles. Nothing good was in store when he had _that _smile on his face.

"You know what, let's try a new technique for your lessons, why don't we?

Oh crap. She swallowed and tried her best to look abashed.

"It's called 'bouncing stuff off your skull until you learn to stop them somehow'. I am still open to new name suggestions, though, preferably shorter than this one."

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><p>AN: And heeeere's chapter 2. Sorry to all folks who were expecting blood, horror, misery and stuff. They'll be coming up soon, I promise. Anyway, thanks for reading everyone (yes, both of you).<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything. I barely own my own internal organs, HP and Elfen Lied are way out of my league.

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><p>The vague, half-formed images of his dreams were whisked away, replaced by the smirking visage of a familiar cunt as he was rudely woken up. His brain hadn't woken up properly yet but that didn't stop his mouth any.<p>

"I was having a nice dream you rude piece of fuck."

The dream wasn't anything nice really, but he took offence to the smirking fucker waking him up this early in the morning. Guess some people are just psychopaths.

Smirky didn't appreciate his wit, it seemed, because he tried to whack him in the head with a broken chair leg. Time slowed to a crawl for him as the boy raised his hand to strike at him. He was somewhat offended at the cheap choice of weapon, though. After all the trouble he gave the boy, he would think he had earned the right to be attacked by a proper one. Like a crowbar or a hammer, not some knock-off bit of furniture.

As the broken bit of wood swung downwards, he felt the familiar niggling feeling in his head spike into a brain-splitting headache. His head felt ready to burst as he his mind stretched to the limit trying to remember. Trying to remember what exactly? What was so goddamn important that his mind damn near ripping itself to pieces to remember? The pain reached to a torturous point as the feeling in his head reached a crescendo. Slowly, he began to-

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><p><em>Harry woke up to the warmth of freshly shed blood on his face. For a while he just lay there, not daring to open his eyes. Just content to listen to the lapping sound. Drip drop, drip drop. It was unmistakably blood. It was-<em>

_Terribly pretty. Morbidly beautiful. Unfortunately expected._

_After a minute of listening to muted drip-drops, he cracked open his eyes. His crimson eyes took in the sight faster than any human eye was capable of._

_Pretty red blood covered the walls, was splattered over the ceilings and caked almost every inch of the room. Coppery, filthy, foul, and precious, it assaulted all of his senses at once giving him the necessary rush for a proper wake up._

_Slowly and cautiously, he moved his hands internally relishing the control that he had over is body once again. Fingertips reached up almost hesitantly and traced his face. His blood-splattered, bruised and grimy flesh and the satisfied smile that stretched across it._

_"I thought," his mouth opened but not through his accord, "that a change of colour was in order. Something… a little bit more… livelier."_

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><p>It was as if a switch was flipped in his mind and a whirlwind of emotions followed. He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry. Guilt, anger, fear, hatred; it all boiled together assaulting his mind. In the midst of it all, a being of cold sharpness rose from within him pushing away all the emotions.<p>

**One word, Harry. Just one word, and I can help you again.**

The parasite in him reached out to him, trying to tempt him with its hollow promises. Yes, he recognized the voice now. It was the very parasite that had spoken and tricked him years ago. That familiar silky voice was reverberating in his mind, laced with seductive promises of great power.

_I remember you! Leave me alone and get the hell out of my mind!_

The voice continued as if he hadn't even heard him. The broken bit of chair leg was close enough for him to clearly see the bent and rusted nail sticking out from its edge.

**Trash like these will be crushed like insects under the might of our power. All you have to do is ask.**

_No… no… you will never take control of me again you. I don't need you to help me._

**You need me, Harry. I have seen your heart and your mind. You crave me, and the power that I could give you.**

_I don't care! I don't need anyone! Goddamn you, leave me alone!_

A mocking laugh echoed painfully in his skull. The chair leg was barely an inch from his head when the parasite's smile showed on his face.

**Brave little Harry, always trying to put up a strong front. Wearing a paper-thin mask of apathy to hide his loneliness and fears. So afraid of other people that he tries to distance himself from them.**

_Fuck you! I will never give in to you._

The voice switched from sharp mocking to hate-filled growl at once.

**If that is what wish you petulant brat, then fine. But know this, Harry. I will not allow you to die this easily. I have so much in store for you yet.**

The voice changed further, turning into a wild, sadistic laughter as it began to recede from his mind. Before it disappeared completely, it left behind one last ominous message.

**Think on this, little Harry. You might be ready to kill yourself a thousand times over just to spite me. But what, I wonder, will you do when it is her life that is at stake.**

He was struck on the side of his head just as the voice stopped. He ignored the white spots in his vision and tried to roll away from the bed only for another hit to bounce off his skull. Pain finally began to register in his mind causing him to let out a wild yell. He tried to lash out with his own power but couldn't focus his mind with the whirlwind of emotions and memories in his mind. Fourth hit and his vision shook, burning red. He could feel himself losing the meagre control he had over his body. Something warm was dripping from his face and onto the sheets. He couldn't even feel the final hit that knocked him out cold.

* * *

><p>Kaede was lying in a crouched position at the foot of a short stumpy tree in their usual meeting place. Harry wasn't going to be here for quite a while but she enjoyed the solitude that this spot proved. Besides, anywhere was better than the orphanage.<p>

Having nothing much to do, she found herself juggling small pebbles in her hands. The rhythmic click-click of the pebbles was strangely entertaining to her. Most people would probably get bored if forced spending hours doing nothing but playing with pebbles but things didn't really bore her like it did other people. She by far preferred spending her time doing simple things like this to the 'excitement' of being kicked around by others.

Her mind wandered even as the almost-mechanical clicking continued and she found herself thinking about her friend. Against all odds, she had found someone who she could call a friend. A warm feeling blossomed in her gut at the thought. It seemed to be a normal thing to other children but for someone like her, who had never expected any good thing out of life, it was practically a blessing.

After their strange agreement, her life had felt strangely better. All kids still hated and tried to bully her and adults still ignored her existence but for the first time in her life, she had something to look forward to and someone who didn't hate her. She let herself smile at the thought of her friend. Even if that someone was a unquestionably lazy and questionably sane

**Help.**

She dropped the pebbles in shock as she heard a soft voice. Fearfully, she looked around trying spot a possible source of the word.

**Help. Please, hurry.**

She didn't know why but the voice, a familiar one, was calling to her for help. A chill began to settle in her stomach. What was wrong? Where was he?

**HELP. PLEASE. HURRY.**

She grabbed her head, crying out in pain as a vivid image burned into her retina.

_A shabby room, exactly like hers. With people, five people. Pointing and jeering. Surrounding a figure. A figure. Dripping and flowing. Red, red, red. Harry! Red blood flowed. Harry. Surrounding him. Laughing. Red, red, blood. __**HARRY!**_

As soon as her mind processed the image she was left panting on the ground with her heart was thudding at a thousand miles per hour. She could feel without a doubt that something was terribly wrong. With trembling legs, she got up and started towards the orphanage, where she could somehow feel Harry's presence coming from.

* * *

><p>She collapsed, panting heavily, against the wall beside the door to his room. Squeezing her eyes shut in pain, she struggled back to her feet and stumbled towards the door.<p>

"You feel smart now, you fucking piece of shit!"

"Get his stuff together! Let's see how he likes to see them burned."

The clearly audible voices from beyond the door incited a burst of fear and anger within her giving her the incentive to go in. With trembling hands, she opened the door desperately hoping against all odds that everything was a big joke and Harry would be inside laughing at how gullible she was.

Five heads swiveled, almost in unison, and turned towards her. She didn't even notice them as her eyes were fixed on the figure lying of the ground.

Laying on his backing, with his face covered in thin crimson film of blood. A small trail of blood connected his body, in the center of the small room, to the worn mattress of his bed, joining at the slowly expanding pool of blood underneath his torso.

It couldn't be Harry. He looked so weak… so disarming. It shouldn't be him.

She only paid attention to the other occupants of the room when someone grabbed her from behind. She looked up to see their faces, their smirking and taunting faces, as they laughed in the face of her misery.

_They were smiling. They were laughing. They were having the time of their lives. They always did._

Humans…

_They didn't care about the pain they cause. They didn't care. They never did._

These humans, they…

_Kill them all. Rip their ugly smiles off their ugly little faces. Crush their throat. Shatter the bones of their weak and pathetic limbs. Bathe them in their own filthy blood. Rip off their innards. Violate their body. Ingest their flesh. Smear them across the floor like a crushed insect._

They hurt him, they….

_Make them pay for what they did. Make them hurt more than they've ever hurt him. Make them more miserable than they've ever made her._

The boy who got himself beaten up just to protect her…

_The ones who aren't human,_

The only one who cared…

_The ones who are monsters,_

Her friend…

_ARE YOU!_

A piercing scream tore from her throat as years and years of hatred reached the climax. Her hands surged upwards. Anger, hatred and despair, all turned to wrath. Her hands flew forward, carrying her will, as she tore at her tormentors with all her being.

* * *

><p>AN: Thank you for reading and sorry about the wait everyone. The spirit was willing but the cheap laptop was not.<p>

And we've finally reached that part! I hope the change of tone didn't bother anyone. This is Elfen Lied after all, so there's quota of blood and violence that I have to fill. No tits though, that would just be weird. With this comes the end of the orphanage part and now we go on to… some other stuff. Yay.


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